West Lake Elementary

4500 West Lake Road

School District

Wake County
Grade

PK, K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:10
Type

public

School Map for Wake County School District

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by parent on March 20, 2024

2 of my 3 boys have been to WLES and they love/loved it! Everyone is so friendly. The talking points app makes it easy to communicate with your child's teacher. I do wish security was tighter as I worry about my children in today's world. Carpool in the afternoon is a little chaotic sometimes which is understandable. Not all cones have kids ready to let the other kids into the car because they are not paying attention and/or havw lwdt rheir cone..Safety should be key! Principal, teachers and staff are all kind and the school is very clean and inviting! Keep up the good work West Lake Wallabies!!
Submitted by parent on January 06, 2022

Positives: Kind staff that is upbeat and friendly that instills positive leadership values. Negatives: school wide no homework policy (how can you know how well your child is doing without seeing where they are academically?), lack of encouraged parent involvement, lack of communication from teachers regarding student progress, spelling is not taught effectively.Overall a friendly and kind learning environment just a lack of support to challenge children academically or help children falling behind.
Submitted by parent on June 08, 2017

Excellent principal,teachers and all staff My little boy learn a lot he is on kindergarten
Submitted by other on March 28, 2017

The staff at this school focuses on students' needs and all that is done is for the benefit of students. I've worked at the school for 12 years and my own children will attend as well.
Submitted by parent on February 20, 2016

Great principal, awesome staff, dedicated teachers, very congenial student and parent environment and hardworking PTA. We couldn't be happier!!!
Submitted by parent on March 05, 2015

This school is fantastic! Our daughter is just finishing her 3rd quartered kindergarten and has really excelled. When she started she could barely remember the alphabet. Now she is reading at a 1st grade level. The principal is very friendly and always takes time to speak us. It is obvious he really cares about the school and he kids. The teacher is outstanding and does a great job educating the kids. Mr. Simons and the teachers really work hard to ensure that West Lake Elemtary is one of the best schools in the county!
Submitted by parent on February 05, 2015

This school was the absolute worst environment for our kids. We have 2 kids that started the last school year here. The school is so disorganized and overcrowded. The principal tries his hardest I think but is just overwhelmed. He spends most of his day disciplining kids. I think they need to hire someone just to do that all day! The kids get lost and have to scream for help if they need it. The turnover rate is high which doesn't look too good.... Both of our kids had their self confidence taken away from them. We took them out mid year because we just couldn't watch them suffer any longer. It was a miserable experience and although I could walk to the school in 5 minutes, we chose to drive our kids to a different school. Very disappointed to say the least. The kids are happy now and we have never looked back. Best decision we ever made was to get them out of there. Very sad to say that about my neighborhood school since we bought our home based upon the schools being so close!
Submitted by parent on October 26, 2014

Although we had been warned about the teacher turn over, we crossed our fingers and enrolled our child in Kindergarten this Fall. The school has faithfully adopted and rigorously implemented all of the common core standards in all grades including Kindergarten. Unfortunately, there is no regard given to where your child actually is developmentally. It is assumed all children entering Kindergarten know their alphabet, know most sounds and should be able to write simple words phonetically. If your child was not enrolled in preschool or if they are delayed in any way, then they will be behind on their very first day of school. The school is over-crowded and does not have the staff to help kids who need remediation. The Kindergarten teacher passed out work sheets daily and graded these assessments with red pen. We un-enrolled our child after the first quarter. I would not recommend this school unless you know the teacher or have friends that can vouch for them. The Principal seemed nice but also looked overwhelmed and tired. He was too busy to speak to us because he was often dealing with discipline issues. My child now puts red x's on his drawings when he is finished with them.
Submitted by parent on January 10, 2014

I have a fourth grader and a first grader and the can't say enough about West Lake... Love the teachers..
Submitted by parent on November 21, 2013

This is the our third year at West Lake Elementary. I currently have a 5th grader, 3rd grader & Kindergartener attending. I have been very happy with the school thus far. It is a highly populated school, but I think the school has done it's best to accommodate and I love the year-round schedule. There has only been one teacher that I did not care for in our 3 years. The other teachers have been helpful and caring. I also cannot say enough good things about Mr. Simons as Principal. I love that he will go out at recess and play with the kids. He really makes an effort to get to know all the kids. He is very approachable and is doing an amazing job. I also want to give a shout out to Ms. Marshall, the Asst. Principal. She and Mr. Simons have created an amazing community feel at the school. Ms. Marshall always has a smile on her face and greets my kids by name. The only one complaint I have about the school is the silent lunches, which seem extreme in my opinion. Aside from that, I love this school and the parents in my neighborhood are very involved in making the school the best it can be.
Submitted by parent on September 26, 2013

This is my daughter's first year, but I am pleasantly surprised at how well the school is run. I was talking with my wife and we wish we did some of the things they do when we were kids. I think social media is helping and the teacher is either very organized or works a lot of hours (it could be both). Also I was worried that my daughter wouldn't be challenged since she scored somewhere in the high 90s percentile of primrose students on the bracken test., but I think that the curriculum she is going through now is appropriate for kindergarten.
Submitted by parent on September 19, 2013

Can not say enough about this school since they put Daniel Simons in principal spot. Love the school. Wonderful.
Submitted by parent on May 16, 2013

The new principal is awesome. He is always approachable! He will bring the school back to the top in the next 5 years! Teachers are just a few very good:((((
Submitted by parent on March 20, 2013

It starts at the top. The new principle is awesome. He is not afraid to run laps with the kids, read to them during story time, institute creative incentive programs, work with the parents, listen.. it trickles down throughout the school to everyone working there and it shows. You can have the most fancy school and if the leadership stinks, the school will stink. I would not hestitate to recommend this school and am happy my kids are here.
Submitted by parent on March 20, 2013

West lake is a great school with strong parent/ teacher involvement. Teachers and principal value parent- teacher communications.
Submitted by parent on January 25, 2013

2011-12 was a turn around for this school Greater energy and positive vision since the new Principal came to WLE.